By Jae-Ha Kim
Kocowa.com
September 29, 2020
It’s that time of year when fans look forward to their favorite K-pop idols competing in the “Idol Star Athletics Championships.” But as can be expected with the coronavirus pandemic still ongoing, the competition will be a little different this year. Instead of idols showing off their athletic prowess in head-to-head competitions, they will compete safely (while social distanced) in two separate formats: eSports and with their cute dogs!
KOCOWA will air both in a LIVE stream, so viewers in North and South America can watch it at the same time as viewers in South Korea. Two 50-minute episodes will air on two consecutive days on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2.
While these LIVE streams won’t have subtitles, KOCOWA will have professional subtitles in English and Portuguese when they upload the episodes for video on demand at a later date.
October 1:
“2020 Idol Star eSports Championships – Chuseok Special” will air at 1:50 am PDT/4:50am PDT/5:50am BRT.
Airing in Korea on MBC, the eSports special will be hosted by trot singer Hong Jin-Young and Super Junior‘s Shindong. The network explained to viewers why they’ve decided to go ahead with their special ISAC programming:
Gaming is popular with fans and is something favorable to air during our contact-free competition with our participating athletes. Both our hosts are well-known aficionados of eSports. They are clever and will offer fun commentary for our viewers.
MBC said that to ensure that all of the participants are safe, they will film this outdoors. Each of the idols will be in individual booths to protect themselves from each other.
October 2:
“2020 Idol Star Dog-agility Championships – Chuseok Special” will air at 1:50 am PDT/4:50am PDT/5:50am BRT
Red Velvet‘s Joy and emcee Jun Hyun-Moo will host this ISAC spinoff, which is expected to be as adorable as the Animal Planet’s annual “Puppy Bowl” in the U.S. A dog agility competition, the pets will appear with their celebrity owners as they make their way through various obstacle courses. Many fans are already familiar with how cute their idols’ fur babies look. But will they be surprised at how agile they are (or aren’t!)?
Come on, as if it matters! This will be a cute-fest no matter who wins. MBC reports that the dogs have been training for months and asks for viewers to cheer them on:
Please look forward to the idols and their loving dogs as well as the work of Joy and Jun Hyun-Moo.”
There will be 11 teams competing. Just some of the confirmed competitors include GOT7’s Youngjae, Moonbyul (Mamamoo), (G)-Idle’s Shuhua, Bomin and Jaehyun (Golden Child), Jisoo (Lovelyz), Soobin (WJSN) and Wooshin (UP10TION)
The competition will be held outside, with idols (and their pups) separated from each other.
These shows will provide a little levity during Chuseok, which is one of South Korea’s most important holidays. It could be likened to Thanksgiving in the United States. Koreans travel to their hometowns to celebrate with their family members and also honor the memories of their ancestors. Many will also take the time to visit the tombstones of their family members to pay their respects. There is usually a huge spread of food to share, with songpyeon — a not-overly-sweet Korean rice cake that’s addictively good — always on the table.
Not for nothing, but these treats are perfect to snack on while watching these ISAC specials.
